Ron Patrick's Street-Legal Jet Powered Volkswagen Beetle (2006)

Post by btilly » Thu, Oct 05, 2023, 8:14 PM UTC

cortesoft wrote: post #62

mindslight wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We live in a society where things are legal by default. Why would adding a jet engine to a car be a priori illegal? If he harms somebody or otherwise causes damage, that itself is what's illegal and he'd be liable regardless of motor vehicle regulations. If this mod became a larger trend, especially consumer-available, then regulations would be implemented to head it off. But for a few lone instances it's not particu…

In California, you have to register your car and have it pass a smog test. How would this pass that?

Post by jacquesm » Thu, Oct 05, 2023, 8:24 PM UTC

h2odragon wrote: post #47

hrichards wrote: post #40

Seems like a good time to ask this question that has been bugging me forever, since all the HN jet nerds will be drawn to this thread: Why hasn't anyone made a hybrid car that uses a gasoline-powered turbine generator to charge its batteries instead of a piston engine? I'd imagine that hooking up such an engine directly to the drivetrain like in a Prius would be difficult, but surely a small turbine with one hell of…

i think even the tiny, model jet engines used in radio control planes are both very hot, and move lots of air. both of which are hard to tame to the point of making them comfortable to coexist with on a city street in large herds. I still want one. direct the exhaust forward, dump in a little extra fuel, and instant snowblower / flamethrower. Makes that pesky crosswalk crowd just melt away.

Post by playworker » Thu, Oct 05, 2023, 8:39 PM UTC

xattt wrote: post #44

hrichards wrote: post #40

Seems like a good time to ask this question that has been bugging me forever, since all the HN jet nerds will be drawn to this thread: Why hasn't anyone made a hybrid car that uses a gasoline-powered turbine generator to charge its batteries instead of a piston engine? I'd imagine that hooking up such an engine directly to the drivetrain like in a Prius would be difficult, but surely a small turbine with one hell of…

I don’t have the source at hand, but a gas turbine is ridiculously inefficient for variable loads. At idle, fuel consumption can be ~35% of what it is at full power. It would only need to charge for short time, and subsequently shut off. When a charge top-up is required, startup would be another rigamarole. Now, rotary engines, that’s a different story…

Post by rainbowzootsuit » Thu, Oct 05, 2023, 8:50 PM UTC

h2odragon wrote: post #47

hrichards wrote: post #40

Seems like a good time to ask this question that has been bugging me forever, since all the HN jet nerds will be drawn to this thread: Why hasn't anyone made a hybrid car that uses a gasoline-powered turbine generator to charge its batteries instead of a piston engine? I'd imagine that hooking up such an engine directly to the drivetrain like in a Prius would be difficult, but surely a small turbine with one hell of…

i think even the tiny, model jet engines used in radio control planes are both very hot, and move lots of air. both of which are hard to tame to the point of making them comfortable to coexist with on a city street in large herds. I still want one. direct the exhaust forward, dump in a little extra fuel, and instant snowblower / flamethrower. Makes that pesky crosswalk crowd just melt away.

Post by _yb2s » Thu, Oct 05, 2023, 9:35 PM UTC

usrusr wrote: post #55

"The car has two engines: the production gasoline engine in the front driving the front wheels and the jet engine in the back." Careful wording to give the impression that the drive shaft of the helicopter turbine would be connected to the rear wheels, without actually claiming that it is. So it's a car with a large flame thrower in the back, minor The Boring Company vibes. Well possible that the author might have ha…